The best cage matches of all-time!!

What are Steel Cage matches meant for? Some believe it is designed for the heel to lose, some say it is to settle or end a fued, and others can say it was designed to create memories that will last a lifetime. That is the point of this blog. Looking back at the history of the Steel Cage that really doesn't get the love it deserves anymore since they designed the hell in a cell and the chamber. A lot of great rivalries, moments, and matches happened inside of a steel cage. What criteria am I using such as why I chose that match: Moments when you look back are signature, match you never forget, and simply a great rivalry. Moments and matches basically when I think of the Steel Cage, these matches and moments go through my head. Here is my top 10 best cage matches of all-time includes AWA, NWA, WWF, WWWF, and WWE:

10.Matt Hardy vs Edge Unforgiven 05-Any rivalry that was actual reality when talking about being personal. No fued was more personal than this. Lita cheated on Matt while he was hurt on the road. Matt got fired, lost his girl, and all thanks to his best friend. Best fued in the year of 2005 without question. Matt attacking Edge backstage, through the crowds before his matches, and the tease of in my opinion the loudest cheer of Matt's career when his music hit during Edge/Lita's wedding on Raw in 2005. Matt got Edge inside the Steel Cage leaped off the top of the cage to land on Edge to get the victory.
9.Jeff Hardy vs CM Punk SD 09-One of the best fueds in the last 5 years obviously was the one between Punk and Jeff Hardy. Two lived different lifestyles while one was straight-edge and the other has a history of doing drugs. This fued made me a Punk fan which I wasn't since he began. I actually disliked Punk. It also involved Jeff's last match in the WWE. Jeff was leaving because he needed time off to rest after that rough schedule WWE has. However, he never returned as most of us hoped. Jeff left at his height of popularity while making Punk a main event guy in the process. Punk waving as he left with the world title as the cage raised seeing Hardyz face....priceless moment us Hardy fans probably will never forget.
8.Hardyz vs Dudleyz Survivor Series 01-This cage match not only featured two great tag teams, but the best of the best. The WCW and WWF tag titles were unified that night inside a Steel Cage. As huge of a Hardyz fan as I was, I was of course rooting for them to win that match. However, Dudleyz came out on top which meant they got to keep their jobs with WWE despite being on the Alliance. This also caused the Hardyz to break up as a tag team and have their first match in the WWE on ppv at Vengeance w/Lita as the ref missing Matt's foot on the rope broke up Team Extreme. What led to the break up? Instead of winning the tag titles and climbing down the cage, Matt was waving for Jeff to come down. Jeff decided to give the fans what they want....he ended up losing the match because he wanted to steal the show costing them the tag titles.
7.Mr.McMahon vs Stone Cold St.Valentine's Massacre 99-No rivalry in my eyes will ever compare to McMahon vs Stone Cold. Best rivalry of all-time if you ask me. You could tell these men didn't like each other. Stone Cold was a rebel who did what he wanted rather than be what Vince wanted. Vince wanted a corporate champion who he could be proud to say was the WWF champion. Stone Cold showed him sign language that Vince could understand on more occassions than I care to count. Vince decided to stop at nothing to get that title off of Austin. He did it successfully on a few occassions, however, this match decided if Austin would main event WM and get a shot at the WWF title vs The Rock. Vince tried everything in his power, even saw the debut of the Big Show who hid under the ring. However, he threw Austin threw the cage which was how the match ended with Austin's hand raised in victory.
6.Midnight Rockers vs Buddy Rose & Doug Summers AWA Brawl in St.Paul 86-These two teams battled for a year and in every scenario Rockers couldn't pick up the victory due to interference, DQ, countout, and so on. Rockers finally had enough and wanted it to be decided inside a steel cage where anything goes, no where for the heels to hide. Rockers finally won the AWA tag titles inside the steel cage after a year long fued between the two. Fans went crazy for the Rockers. One of the best tag team fued not only in NWA history, but in wrestling history as well ended that night.
5.Benoit vs Kurt Angle Raw 01-In 2005 before the homecoming to USA, they had a Raw special of top 10 moments in Raw history or something like that. This match was featured in yet can't get on a Raw DVD. I think I can think Benoit for that more so than anyone else. However, they had one helluva match. At the time, two of the best technical wrestlers in the world. Stole the show in my eyes at WM17, and did so again on Raw that night. The night Kurt Angle went for a moonsault and missed is still talked about among us fans today when we talk about steel cage matches. The fans went nuts as we all did. Don't have those type of moments on Raw, especially with Cage matches now days. 4.Bret Hart vs Owen Hart Summerslam 94-There is a reason as to why Bret Hart is Mr.Summerslam and it is for matches like this one. Certainly one of the best matches in Summerslam history (top 5) and it is without question one of the best cage matches of all-time. Brother vs brother for the WWF title on a platform like Summerslam is huge. What a moment for the Hart family. Owen's fued with Bret in my opinion is one of the best Bret ever had in his career. Certainly in Owen's, but it was classic stuff. Survivor Series team of Harts, turning on Bret at the Rumble, and beating him at WM 10 the same night he ended leaving with the WWF title. He became the King of Harts and won the king of the ring just like Bret did. He challenged Bret for the WWF title to prove once again that he was better than Bret. He didn't win the WWF title, however, he had the last laugh because at Survivor Series that same year he cost Bret the WWF title. What was unique about this particular cage match was it needed no blood to be called a great cage match. That speaks huge volumes if you ask me.
3.Bruno Sammartino vs Larry Zbyszko Shea Stadium 1980-Some may call it the greatest cage match of all-time, but I don't believe so. Maybe it was the platform, maybe it was because the old school wrestling, or maybe I just liked the others better. I'm not gonna lie, this cage match is the most annoying talked about cage match on my list. Mostly because it is the grumpy old men bashing the young guys today. Slamming the likes of Andre and Hogan. Certainly is one of the best cage matches of all-time and one of the most talked about. However, what is the need of bashing the young generation when you should be giving them some love. Just my opinion, but honestly in my list it would have been #3 in any case.
2.Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka vs Don Muraco MSG 83-There are moments in the wrestling business where some wrestlers can say that shot right there is what I'll always be remembered for. Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka's splash from the top of the cage in MSG is the most talked about moment inside of the Steel Cage I think of any on the list which is why I listed it this high. This match and this moment defined a HOF'rs career. Just like Foley with his hell in a cell with Taker, Edge spears Jeff Hardy in TLC, and I could go on, but few have a defining moment like that. Jimmy Snuka took cage matches to new heights that night literally. I would have ranked this #1 had it been on a bigger stage. MSG isn't a big stage? Not as big of a stage as the #1 ranked cage match on my list was at.
1.Ric Flair vs Harley Race Starrcade 83-If not for Starrcade, would there be ppv, Wrestlemania, or so forth. Starrcade put a stamp on this business going nationally booking the best card possible for one event a year. Flair called this match a Flair for the gold. It was a passing of the torch similar to WM6 moment with Hogan and Warrior except this was a better match and it was inside a steel cage. 7x world champion Harley Race vs Ric Flair both HOF'rs on the biggest stage to decide who would be the world champion. Flair left with the gold with all the sweat, tears, and blood on his face. No moment, match, or platform I believe was bigger than this one. It was and is in my opinion the greatest cage match of all-time.

I hope you enjoyed this blog. I saved the best BFG moments for the week of the ppv. Sorry for the wait, but thought it was more appropriate. Hope you liked the list I made that I think is solid of a list as one could make. Any matches I leave off that should have made the top 10? How'd I do? Thoughts leave in the comment section below.

Comments

Great matches in here but listen... It's "feud", not "fued". Shit bothers me I dunno why. Anyway glad to see you put in Snuka/Muraco at MSG and Zybsyko/Bruno at Shea... Some of New York's finest old school big-time draws.

Great to see Matt Hardy and Edge getting some recognition. I remember watching that match just feeling uneasy about the whole situation and noticing both guys going to great lengths to make sure they covered their ribs and face whenever possible because a TON of potato shots were thrown in that match. Huge props to the both of them for being professional enough to work a full match though.

Awesome that you put in St. Valentine's Day Massacre, I actually think that was my first PPV ever and I remember my cousins being so hyped up that Paul Wight (who they told me WWF was originally going to call him Titan but couldn't because of their parent company, Titan Sports). All I know is that I was a WCW guy at the time and saw The fuckin Giant pop out of the ring and deliver one of the most shocking moments in wrestling history as well as one of the greatest finishes in cage-match history and maybe even history in general.

One notable cage match you didn't include (technically it was only one-third cage-match) was the Austin/Trips 3 Stages of Hell match from No Way Out 2001. Only the third fall (if necessary of course... and it was, as it ALWAYS is and has to be necessary) was a cage match. However I think that match could be top 100 - top 50 of all time and the finish to the match (which took place in the cage) is one of the greatest finishes of all time. If you haven't seen it I suggest watching it. Here's part one, you should find the other parts no problem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7roJ6dWmXUU

When you say "of all-time" you really set yourself up. What I see missing is....

Hogan vs Mr Wonderful - they hit the floor at the same time. Personally I think Wonderful's feet hit the floor 1st.

TA vs Tully - I quit match.

XXX vs AMW - you don't have to be a TNA fan to know this match was awesome.

Duggan vs Dibiase - Tux, coal miners glove, looser leave town, you name it this match had it. And all in side the cage. Mid-South

Kerry vs Flair - Hayse the special ref. Start of the one of the biggest fueds in 80's wrestling history. WCCW at its best.

So many more...

Kerry vs Flair I agree with ya. TA vs Tully to me was an I quit match which is why I left it out. Didn't end because a man climbed the cage, pin, or submission. It ended after a man said he quit.

I'm a TNA fan, but a walk across the top of a cage doesn't get you just a spot on my list. Certainly on a TNA list.

Hogan vs Wonderful didn't have the feud or the hatred for one another like Matt/Edge. They weren't opposites that everyone understand. It didn't end ones career either. When I look back on Jeff and Matt's career in the WWE as singles competitors those rivalries they had with Punk and Edge will always come up in conversation. When you talk about Hogan you think of Andre, Savage, Sting, Piper and so forth. Mine is a bit of a combination of the rivalry, the match, and moment in the history of the men who stepped foot in the ring in their careers. No single rivalry Matt had or even Edge's will be more personal than the one that shortly ended after that cage match.

Certainly, in the history of wrestling, several memorable cage matches. I narrowed it down to 10. I'm not going to say my 10 is perfect, but I think I did a very good job of my selection.

I have to say that while it didn't play out well on TV because of the people involved, the Three Level Cage Match with Hogan & Macho Man vs. Dungeon of Doom and the Four Horseman was a pretty interesting set up. Could have been something special with different participants.

Kerry vs Flair I agree with ya. TA vs Tully to me was an I quit match which is why I left it out. Didn't end because a man climbed the cage, pin, or submission. It ended after a man said he quit.

I'm a TNA fan, but a walk across the top of a cage doesn't get you just a spot on my list. Certainly on a TNA list.

Hogan vs Wonderful didn't have the feud or the hatred for one another like Matt/Edge. They weren't opposites that everyone understand. It didn't end ones career either. When I look back on Jeff and Matt's career in the WWE as singles competitors those rivalries they had with Punk and Edge will always come up in conversation. When you talk about Hogan you think of Andre, Savage, Sting, Piper and so forth. Mine is a bit of a combination of the rivalry, the match, and moment in the history of the men who stepped foot in the ring in their careers. No single rivalry Matt had or even Edge's will be more personal than the one that shortly ended after that cage match.

Certainly, in the history of wrestling, several memorable cage matches. I narrowed it down to 10. I'm not going to say my 10 is perfect, but I think I did a very good job of my selection.

Orndorff vs Hogan was a HUGE heel turn and a feud IMO. Very personal and fans felt very betrayed. I still remember where I was at when he turned on Hulk and went back to the Heenan family. It was that big of a turn IMO. It's a shame, but your statement about who you think of when it comes down to Hulk just backs up my opinion of poor Mr Wonderful being SO FUCKING UNDERRATED. If I were making a list of the most underrated superstars of all time, Paul would be high up there. He was one of the most despised heels at the time.